Doughnuts
by redex
Summary: DouWata. Etable symbolism and meddling.


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_Doughnuts - the endless circle of eternity._

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"Doughnuts?"

Watanuki repeated the word like the traveller who is asked by the highway robber for all their worldly posessions.

"Yeeeees, doughnuts!" Yuuko repeated gleefully, swinging Mokona around in a circle.

Watanuki could only sigh and turn towards the kitchen.

"I don't suppose you have a deep-fryer somewhere around here, do you?"

And, of course, it only had to get worse.

"Oh no, Watanuki-kun! We want _store_-bought doughnuts!"

The twins started singing 'store-bought' and dancing around. A tic developed in Watanuki's right eye. Spinning around, he glared at the happy group of them, causing Yuuko to quail in exaggerated fear.

"But the nearest shop open is miles away!" he exclaimed, exhausted and fustrated and just wanting to go home and go to bed. "And all the busses are done for the night!"

"You'd better hurry, then!"

When Yuuko got that meaningful "I'm going to turn you into a frog if you don't do this right now" look on and directed it in his direction, Watanuki tore off the frilly apron and tossed it on the floor, stomping towards the door and out into the night. Tears of fustration lingered in his eyes.

By the time he arrived at the 7-11 he had calmed down somewhat and had almost reached weary resignation when he opened the door, turned to the display case that usually housed all the baked goods and then looked at the cash. There weren't any doughnuts left. Doumeki was at the counter, handing over money with the last doughnuts in a bag. There was a moment's delay as all of this processed.

"WHAT ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE!" he screamed, suddenly forgetting how tired he was in face of this outrage. The cashier dropped behind his desk in fear, but Doumeki with a seasoned soldier's experience merely put his fingers in his ears as the usual tirade went on, only venturing out when Watanuki had run out of breath and insults.

"Buying doughnuts."

Clearly it was the wrong thing to say, because Watanuki burst into tears and was suddenlly trying to grab behind Doumeki at the bag of precious sugared confectionary.

"Yuuko wanted them and she'll kill me if I don't come back with them, why do you have to make everything so much worse, please please please, I'll pay you anything you want for them so that I can just go _home_ and _sleep_..."

Doumeki sighed, looked up at the ceiling as if asking his ancestors for strength and took the bag off the counter.

"No."

But just when Watanuki was winding up for another long howl on the unfairness of the universe Doumeki cut in with an uncanny finesse.

"You have to do something for me in return."

Watanuki froze. He knew this line, and he was already suspicious, but didn't say anything.

"Kiss me, and I'll give you the doughnuts."

There was another explosion of sound out of Watanuki's mouth and the employee fled to the back room, leaving them alone with the hum of the machines.

But Doumeki was still looking seriously down (fustratingly down) at Watanuki when the torrent of fustrations ceased and the shorter of the two was left panting.

"Are you - serious?"

Watanuki looked up (fustratingly up) at Doumeki with a half-frightened, half-questioning look that Doumeki met with an unreadable expression.

"Yes."

Watanuki poked his fingers together and twiddled his thumbs and looked away, blushing with shifty eyes.

Doumeki had a little incredulousness in his voice when he said, smirking: "What, haven't you ever kissed someone before?"

Watanuki took a deep breath and Doumeki's arms raised to cover his ears just in case, but it was released as a tired sigh.

"No," he replied, and the pout was evident in his voice. "I had been hoping... Hinamori-chan..."

Doumeki merely scoffed and folded his arms over his chest.

"I would have thought that by inow/i you would have at least gotten up the courage with isomeone/i."

And then there was the catch: "Or maybe you're just too afraid you'll _suck_ at it."

Watanuki blew himself up and confronted his aggressor, the way that Doumeki liked it best. He knew where he was with Watanuki's anger.

"I would definitely be better at it than _you_!"

He should have known better, but no matter how many times they had this same conversation, Watanuki walked into it every time.

"Prove it, then."

The anger flattened like air let out of a balloon.

"I-er, well..."

And then Doumeki sighed. He was tired of all this dancing around. When it really got down to it, he just prefered to take what he wanted and go away. It was the simplest way to do things, he had found, until he had met Watanuki.

With that thought in mind, he dropped the doughnuts onto the floor, reached out one large calloused hand, and cupped Watanuki's cheek. A blush rose immidiately to meet it, and he felt the warmth against his palm.

"Kiss me," he urged, voice sounding slightly strangled and far away to his own ears. "And I'll give you what you need."

He wasn't quite sure whether he was talking about the doughnuts any more.

The kiss was... soft, wet, and somehow managed to break down all the accumilated stress like so much wet paper. It only lasted a few seconds, but somehow Watanuki's lips looked brighter afterwards when Doumeki's lustful eyes followed them, his tounge looking more pink when it darted out to wet his lips and then hid again.

"Um..."

He realised he was still staring with who-knew-what look on his face as Watanuk blushed at him and fidgeted under his hand and gaze.

Doumeki sighed, picked up the bag off the floor and held it out for Watanuki to take.

"I'll walk you home."

But even though both of them knew they meant to head in the direction of Yuuko's non-existant house and plot of empty land, they ended up going towards Watanuki's apartment instead. It was dark and they stayed in the streetlight's pools as Watanuki shivered a little every time they were left without a light.

Doumeki was about to turn away from the door with a muttered "See you later" when Watanuki's screwed-up courage finally sprung loose and he grabbed onto an arm he had latched onto in fright or weakness much more often than he would like to admit. Doumeki looked at the hand and then followed it up the arm to the face as if not entirely sure what it was.

Watanuki saw the question in his eyes.

"You - you might as well stay here, for the night, and get some sleep instead of walking home this late. And... it's kind of dangerious, and I have an extra futon and some blankets and I'll make breakfast if you want..."

He was aware that he was rambling, but he couldn't look up at Doumeki's inscrutable face so he just kept talking in the hopes that something would make sense. He only stopped when a unmistakable hand brushed the hair back from his glasses.

"Yeah, I'll stay."

And then Doumeki stepped through the doorway, pushing Watanuki out of the way, and flashed him a devious grin that fair lit up the room.

"Only if you're making omlettes."

And for a brief moment, everything was okay and the way it should be.

No one really figured out why Doumeki was out so late buying doughnuts at a store halfway across town from his home.


End file.
